[Foundation-l] identity disclosure and access to OTRS/Checkuser

[Brian McNeil]

Like others who have commented here, I was required to prove I was of age
with legal ID before accessing OTRS. Were the claim that people _used to be_
lax, I would believe it. To claim they have become lax just seems silly.
Part of Sue's remit has been to reduce informality and make processes like
this a casual, but required, formality. It should not be a big deal for
people who are prepared to take on roles like this and CheckUser to get
them. Part and parcel of that is that the office does not turn it into as
much of an ordeal as getting a NATO security clearance. The key thing is
proving you are old enough to be legally responsible for your actions. To
start with, you will not get to the position of being asked that unless you
have - online - proven you act mature enough to take responsibility for your
actions.

Those who would criticise how the whole thing works would do well to look at
the social structure, and to stop looking for the cabals. Wikimedia projects
are meritocracies, and administrators as young as fourteen can end up taking
the decision to block the entire U.S. Congress from editing Wikipedia. If
their reasoning is sound, they will be backed up. To get to that position
they've been through a trial of fire and proven themselves mature beyond
their years. When they can prove they've hit the right age, they'll get
access to the stuff that the privacy policy covers.

I have neither seen, nor heard, anything to contradict this being the way
things are run. Neither Wikipedia Review or Kelly Martin should be
considered credible sources.


Brian McNeil

-----Original Message-----
From: foundation-l-bounces at lists.wikimedia.org
[mailto:foundation-l-bounces at lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Phil Nash
Sent: 29 June 2008 21:26
To: Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Foundation-l] identity disclosure and access to OTRS/Checkuser

Philippe Beaudette wrote:
>> On Jun 25, 2008, at 2:45 PM, Mike Godwin wrote:
>>
>>> I don't know what Kelly is referring to here. Cary doesn't make
>>> exceptions, routinely or otherwise, to the identification policy.
>>> Greg's experience is the norm, and it has been since I came on at
>>> the Foundation a year ago (one-year anniversary coming up in July!).
>>>
>>>
>>> --Mike
>>
>>
>> In my situation, a good chunk of the WMF staff knows me pretty well,
>> I'm spent a (not insignificant) amount of time in their offices, and
>> been through some fairly thorough questioning on various topics.  And
>> yet, when I needed access to private information for the board
>> elections, Cary - who can pick me out of a lineup and knows me
>> reasonably well, I think - asked to see my driver's license.
>>
>> My gut feel and personal experience says that the policy is being
>> enforced fairly stringently.
>>
>> Philippe

To me it seems no more than exercising due diligence; I for one would prefer

personal data to be overprotected than underprotected, and it seems 
indicative of the amount of care taken. That could be critical in 
litigation.



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